Tesla India Begins Model Y Deliveries, First Customer is Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik

The first Tesla Model Y in India has been handed over to its buyer, Maharashtra State Minister of Transport, Pratap Sarnaik, at the company’s first Experience Centre in Mumbai. This marks the beginning of Tesla’s official presence on Indian roads, which the company had promised would happen by the end of September. Tesla launched its commercial operations in India with the opening of its first Experience Centre on July 15 this year, and began accepting pre-orders for the Model Y on the same day.  

In a video clip posted by ANI, Minister Sarnaik is seen accepting the delivery of the white Model Y, though it is not clear which variant he purchased. The company has also not made any statement about subsequent deliveries to other customers, except for a social media post stating “Deliveries starting soon” and naming Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Pune. These are the cities that the company had said it would prioritise for deliveries when it opened registrations across India in late July. 

The minister has been quoted by multiple media outlets as saying that he has purchased the car at its full retail price, and did not receive any discount from Tesla. He also said at the handover ceremony that he chose to purchase an electric car in order to help improve their visibility, in line with the government’s objectives.

After trying to enter the Indian market for several years, Tesla finally opened its first Experience Centre in India at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex this July, followed soon after by a second one at Aerocity, New Delhi. The company has also inaugurated its first Supercharger stalls in key locations in these cities, with several more set to become operational in the coming weeks. The next showroom is expected to come up in Bengaluru soon, possibly followed by another in Gurgaon, with additional service locations also set to open soon.

However, while Tesla is rapidly expanding its footprint across India, a Bloomberg report this week claimed that it has only received around 600 bookings in India so far. The Model Y is priced starting at ₹59.89 lakh for the base variant (500km claimed WLTP range), with the long-range variant  (622km claimed) costing ₹67.89 lakh (both ex-showroom). The Full Self Driving option costs an additional ₹6 lakhs if added at the time of purchase, though there is no clarity on when or if it will ever be offered in India. Tesla has also not yet localised its in-car software and voice assistant feature. 

The lower-priced Model 3 was also expected to be available in India at launch time, but the company has not yet announced when it will be introduced here. With no plans for local manufacturing despite earlier reports, the company faces stiff import duties and does not qualify for government incentives, which means prices in India are significantly higher than in the USA and many other countries.